Ropes of Sand
by Kythe42
Summary: Henry comes down sick and Lucas does his best to take care of him. Henry is a difficult patient though and doesn't make it easy for him.


Disclaimer: I do not own any of these characters. I'm merely borrowing them for my own amusement.

Spoilers: Spoilers for the end of Season 1 Episode 11.

Author's Notes: This story was written for the Lucas Wahl Appreciation Week event on AO3. Many thanks to Spacecadet72 on AO3 for beta reading.

* * *

Lucas sighed impatiently. Henry had been staring at the same piece of evidence on the body they were autopsying for the past ten minutes. It was normal for him to get lost in his thoughts, but it didn't usually take him this long to come out of it. He figured he should probably speak up at this point, because they were never going to get anything done at this rate. "Dr. Morgan?" Henry seemed not to hear him and continued to stare vacantly at the body. "Henry?" he said a bit more sharply. This seemed to get Henry's attention, and he shook his head and finally looked up at him.

"My apologies Lucas. It seems my mind was elsewhere."

"Yeah I noticed," Lucas said dryly. "Are you feeling ok?"

Henry fought back a small smile at his assistant's concern. "I'm fine Lucas. Perhaps a bit tired, but otherwise I am well."

Lucas nodded and let it go, but throughout the day Henry seemed to grow more and more fatigued. He kept overlooking minor, but important, details that he would not normally miss. Under normal circumstances Lucas would just chalk it up to Henry testing him, but he did not think that was the case today. Henry didn't usually test him this way nearly so frequently, and it was obvious how exhausted he was. "Are you sure you're alright?" Lucas asked after the tenth time he had to draw Henry's attention to an overlooked detail.

Henry ran a hand over his face. "I think I've developed a bit of a headache, but it's nothing to worry about," he insisted.

Lucas frowned. "Maybe you should go take something for it then since it seems to be affecting your concentration."

"There is nothing wrong with my concentration," Henry protested, but sighed at the doubtful look Lucas was giving him. "Perhaps I would feel better if I took some ibuprofen though," he said in defeat and peeled off his surgical gloves and disposed of them. "Why don't you finish up this autopsy, and I'll try to catch up on some paperwork in my office until I'm feeling more like myself?"

"Sure thing Doc," Lucas said with a satisfied smile, glad that Henry was finally going to rest instead of forcing himself to suffer through the headache.

Henry nodded gratefully at Lucas. "Come get me if you need anything," he said and headed back to his office.

* * *

The day went by quickly. There weren't any unusual cases, and Lucas was able to finish up the rest of the autopsies on his own without needing to bother his boss, though he was sure Henry would want to go over his work later anyway. He was almost startled when he looked at his watch, realizing it was the end of his shift and Henry still hadn't emerged from his office. Feeling somewhat concerned, he decided he should go check on Henry before he left. As he approached Henry's office, he could see through the glass door that Henry was fast asleep in his desk chair. Cautiously, Lucas opened the door and stepped inside the office. Henry didn't look well at all. His face was somewhat flushed with a slight sheen of sweat covering it, and he was moaning softly in his sleep. Lucas stepped behind Henry's desk and gingerly felt his forehead. Henry was definitely running a fever, and Lucas was concerned because his boss's skin shouldn't feel that hot when he had ibuprofen in his system. Then again, it had been several hours since he'd taken the pills, assuming he actually did take them like he said he would.

Henry woke to the feel of a cool hand against his forehead. He wasn't sure where he was, only that he had somehow fallen asleep sitting up in a chair. The last thing he remembered was coming into his office and taking some medicine for a headache that had steadily been growing worse. He had closed his eyes, only wanting to rest for a few moments. He supposed that he had fallen asleep and was still in his office, but he wasn't sure how long he had been asleep for. He felt awful though. His headache was even worse than before he had taken the medicine, and he felt generally achy all over as one does when they have a fever. He also had the strange sensation of feeling hot and cold at the same time. Henry felt so completely exhausted despite the nap, and he wanted nothing more than to go back to sleep, but he knew he should probably try to get up and go home, since he didn't think he'd be any more use at work with the way he was currently feeling. He slowly opened his eyes and saw his assistant standing over him with a concerned frown on his face. "Lucas?" Henry said, not feeling coherent enough to form more of a question than that.

"Hey Doc. You're not looking so good. You're all flushed and you definitely have a fever," he paused to palpate Henry's neck, "Your glands are swollen. Yep, you're definitely coming down with something."

Henry frowned and pushed Lucas's hands away. "Lucas you're a medical examiner, not a physician."

"Hey! I went to medical school the same as you," said Lucas slightly affronted. "If I was the one sick, you wouldn't hesitate to examine me."

"I however, used to be a practicing physician, which is not something that you can claim," Henry pointed out.

Lucas rolled his eyes. "I still think this falls within my skill set. Do you have any other symptoms beside a headache and fever?"

"I'll be fine Lucas," Henry insisted, ignoring the question. "I just need to rest some more."

"You've already rested for several hours," Lucas informed him. "I autopsied all the bodies and our shift is over now."

"Did I really?" Henry asked in disbelief, and then not waiting for Lucas to answer, he retrieved his watch from his pocket to check the time. "Good lord..." he said under his breath when he saw how late it was. "I should really head home then or Abe will start to worry." Henry slipped his watch back into his pocket, and stood up. He immediately felt a wave of dizziness come over him and he swayed on his feet. Lucas caught hold of his arm before he lost his balance, and forced him to sit back down in his desk chair.

"You're not going anywhere just yet," Lucas said with a much more authoritative tone than he usually did. "Wait here, I'll be right back."

Henry nodded, not having the strength to argue. He closed his eyes, and he must have dozed off again, because the next thing he knew he was jolted awake by a cold hard object being shoved into his mouth. Henry opened his eyes and saw that the object was a digital thermometer. He pulled it out of his mouth and glared at Lucas. "You don't need to take my temperature. You've felt my forehead, and I will concede to the fact that I am feverish."

"That doesn't tell me how high of a fever you have though," Lucas pointed out. He grabbed the thermometer from Henry's hand and shoved it back in his mouth. He couldn't help chuckling a bit when Henry scowled at him, but at least he didn't try to take the thermometer out of his mouth again. "I swear, it's easier to make ropes out of sand than to treat another doctor," he said shaking his head.

Henry raised an eyebrow at Lucas's clever statement, but was unable to comment with his mouth full. After a couple of minutes, the thermometer beeped and Henry removed it from his mouth. He sighed heavily when he read the display, and then handed the thermometer back to Lucas. "101.4 degrees Fahrenheit. Definitely a fever, but not a high enough one to be life threatening."

"But high enough to make you feel like crap and not be able to even stand up straight. You need to take something for it." Lucas motioned to the bottle of Tylenol and glass of water that he'd left on Henry's desk.

Henry blinked in surprise, not having noticed those items on his desk until now. He reluctantly took a couple of pills from the bottle and swallowed them with a gulp of water. "Are you now satisfied?"

"A little. I'd be happier if you'd give me a full overview of your symptoms and let me examine you properly," Lucas answered sulking slightly.

Henry rolled his eyes. "One would think that I'm at death's door the way you're carrying on. I have a fever, fatigue, headache, muscle aches, hot and cold flashes, and dizziness upon standing. I may develop other symptoms later, but that is all for now. You will have to be content with that, as I do not wish to submit to a physical examination at this time. It's likely just a virus that I've picked up, and I will simply need to go home and rest while my immune system fights it off. I should be fine in a couple of days."

Lucas frowned, then nodded. "Fine, but there is no way you are riding your bike home in your condition."

Henry chuckled. "I was not planning on riding my bike. I will call Abe and see if he can pick me up, otherwise I will take a cab." Henry rolled his eyes as Lucas stood there resolutely waiting for him to make the phone call. He picked up the phone on his desk and dialed his home number. He gave up after several rings, hung up, and then tried calling Abe's cell phone. After a few rings the call went to voicemail. Henry didn't bother to leave a message, figuring that by the time Abe heard it, he could be halfway home in a cab. He rubbed his eyes tiredly and looked up at Lucas. "It seems I will be taking that cab."

Lucas nodded. "Sorry, I'd drive you home myself if I had a car."

"It's quite alright Lucas, though I do appreciate the sentiment," Henry said as he stood up again, grabbing hold of his desk to steady himself. Lucas went over to his coatrack and brought him his coat and scarf. Henry nodded his thanks and put them on. He let go of his desk and tried to walk to the entrance of his office, but after a few steps he was overcome with dizziness again, and once again Lucas had to grab onto him to prevent him from falling over.

"Looks like I'm walking you out Doc. Though perhaps I should just wheel you to the lobby on a gurney."

Henry narrowed his eyes at Lucas. "The assistance would be much appreciated, but I do not believe a gurney will be necessary."

Lucas rolled his eyes. "I was joking, mostly..." He adjusted his grip on Henry to support him better, wrapping an arm around his waist. Henry threw an arm over his shoulders, though it was a bit awkward with the height difference. They slowly made their way to the elevator, rode up to the lobby, and walked to the building entrance with Henry leaning heavily on Lucas the whole way. Lucas had Henry sit down in one of the chairs in the lobby while he went outside to hail a cab.

Henry rubbed his eyes and closed them momentarily, wanting nothing more than to be home in bed. He'd have to wait awhile longer for that though. He was almost positive that he would be falling asleep on the ride home. After a few minutes, Lucas returned and helped him to his feet, then guided him to the waiting cab. He got in and buckled his seatbelt, then much to his surprise, Lucas went around to the other side of the vehicle and climbed in sitting next to him. "Lucas what are you doing?"

"I'm riding home with you," Lucas replied in an exasperated tone. "If you needed help getting to the cab, what makes you think you can make it from the cab to the shop by yourself?"

Henry sighed knowing Lucas was right. "Very well," he answered wearily and gave the cab driver his address. As the car pulled out onto the road, he settled back in his seat and closed his eyes once more, the illness causing him to quickly fall asleep again.

Lucas frowned as he watched Henry sleep. His boss really didn't look well at all. He kept moaning softly in his sleep with pained expressions on his face. He then smiled sadly as he realized that he had never seen Henry look so vulnerable before. Henry was always so strong and guarded, and seemed to come out of so many dangerous situations with barely more than a scratch on him if that, that it was hard for Lucas to imagine him succumbing to a simple virus. It wasn't the first time he had seen Henry come down sick in the three years that they had worked together, but it was the first time an illness had so completely incapacitated his boss. At some point, he noticed that Henry was shivering in his sleep and he asked the driver to turn up the heat. He continued to watch Henry as he slept with a doctor's eye to monitor for any deterioration in his condition. Lucas gently shook Henry awake once they arrived at the antiques shop.

Henry blinked a few times and looked around confused for a few moments, unsure of where he was. It was clear that he was in a cab and he had just arrived home, but he was unsure why Lucas was with him. He paid the driver and they both exited the vehicle. Henry felt rather unsteady on his feet, and felt his knees buckling as he was overcome by a wave of dizziness. Lucas rushed to his side and grabbed him by his upper arms to steady him before he fell over. "Lucas what happened? Am I drunk?"

Lucas shook his head and chuckled slightly. "No Doc, you're not drunk. You're sick, remember?"

Henry nodded slowly as fuzzy memories of the day started to come back to him. "Ah yes..."

Lucas briefly felt Henry's forehead and noted that he definitely felt warmer than he did earlier. To his surprise, Henry actually seemed to lean into his touch, and before he knew it, Henry was actually slumped against him, seemingly unable to support himself. He gave Henry a small pat on the back. "Come on, let's get you inside." Henry mumbled something that, while unintelligible, sounded affirmative. Lucas continued to support Henry as he led him to the shop entrance. Henry was too out of it to be able to unlock the door, so Lucas had to fish around in his coat pockets until he found his keys. Once inside the shop, Lucas locked up again before helping Henry up the stairs to the apartment.

It was slow going, but Lucas finally got Henry up the stairs and led him to a couch in the living room, which Henry promptly collapsed on. Lucas took off Henry's shoes and placed them next to the couch. He was shivering again, so Lucas covered him with a blanket, the same one he had draped over Henry's shoulders when he was in shock after killing Clark Walker in self-defense. Henry murmured his thanks and closed his eyes. Lucas frowned as he realized that Henry's breathing sounded rather labored. "Are you having any trouble breathing Doc? You sound like you're wheezing a bit."

"I'm fine Lucas, just a bit out of breath. It is not unreasonable that I would be more easily winded in my fatigued feverish state," Henry answered in barely more than a whisper.

"Maybe, but I'd still like to listen to your lungs. Do you have a stethoscope lying around here by any chance?"

"Yes I do own one, but I assure you that won't be necessary," Henry insisted, speaking a bit louder this time, before breaking off coughing a few times into the blanket.

Lucas rolled his eyes and then gave Henry a stern look. "I just want to make sure you don't have walking pneumonia or something like that. Where's the stethoscope?"

"I'll tell you what Lucas. I'll let you listen to my lungs if you can find the stethoscope on your own," Henry answered with a mischievous, albeit weak, grin.

Lucas shook his head in exasperation. It could take him hours to find the stethoscope in this place. He'd let it go for now, but would be more insistent if he noticed any further deterioration in Henry's breathing. "Maybe I should just make you some dinner instead."

"I appreciate the thought Lucas, but you needn't trouble yourself. I'm really not very hungry right now. Abraham will make me something when he gets home," Henry assured him.

"But you don't even know where he is or what time he's coming home," Lucas protested.

"Check the kitchen table or by the phone to see if he's left a note," Henry said and closed his eyes again, not having the strength to keep them open any longer.

Lucas checked the kitchen, and sure enough there was a note from Abe on the kitchen table saying that he'd be out late on a date. Lucas knew that Henry had said he wasn't hungry, but he should really try to eat something, preferably soup. He looked all over the kitchen and pantry, but to his frustration, he couldn't find soup anywhere. He did however find a thermometer in a cupboard along with some first aid supplies. He grabbed the thermometer and went back to the living room, where Henry was now curled up on his side on the couch in an almost fetal position. He knelt down next to the couch and shook Henry gently. "Come on, wake up. I need to check your temperature again."

Henry slowly opened his eyes and looked up confusedly at his assistant. "Lucas? What are you doing here? Where's Abraham?" he murmured sleepily.

Lucas sighed and rubbed the back of his neck. Henry was even more out of it than he thought. "You're not doing so well, so I brought you home. Abe left a note saying that he's out on a date and not to wait up for him. Now open up, I want to see if your fever has gone up."

Henry nodded and opened his mouth, shutting it closed again after Lucas inserted the thermometer. He struggled to stay awake, but it was so hard. He couldn't remember the last time he'd felt this weak and ill. After a couple of minutes, the thermometer beeped and he couldn't even find the strength to lift his arm up to remove it from his mouth.

Lucas took the thermometer from Henry's mouth and read the display. "Ok yeah, your fever has definitely gone up. It's 102.4 now, and that's with the Tylenol. It's too soon for you do have more, but do you have any ibuprofen or aspirin in the house?"

"Medicine cabinet... upstairs bathroom..." Henry mumbled between yawns.

"Ok Doc, you rest here while I go find it," Lucas said and patted Henry on the arm. It didn't take him long to find the ibuprofen, and he grabbed a glass of water and a plate of crackers from the kitchen before heading back to the living room.

Henry forced himself to open his eyes again when Lucas returned, and eyed the plate of crackers with a bit of annoyance. "I said I wasn't hungry."

Lucas rolled his eyes. "You know you have to take these pills with food."

Henry sighed. "Very well." With great effort, he took a few crackers from the plate and forced them down his throat. Only then did Lucas hand over the ibuprofen which he swallowed with a long sip of water.

"You should really have something more to eat than that. Where do you keep the soup? I was going to make you some, but I can't find it anywhere."

"Keep the soup?" Henry said with his eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "We don't keep it anywhere. If you want to make soup, you'll have to make it from scratch."

"No, of course you don't keep canned soup in the house," said Lucas running a hand over his face in frustration, "because that's something normal people do." He couldn't help laughing a bit at the affronted look Henry was giving him. "I think I'll just go out and buy some soup. Will you be alright here by yourself for awhile?"

"How many times do I have to tell you that I'm not hungry?" Henry snapped with annoyance.

"Well I am, and you might be hungry too by the time I get back," Lucas pointed out.

"Lucas really, I'll be fine. Go home and have your dinner. I'll just sleep until Abe gets home."

"And we have no idea when that will be. I'm going to go get us some food. You have my cell number, so just call if you need anything, and I'll try to get back faster."

Henry nodded knowing that Lucas wasn't going to let this go, but he doubted very much that he'd even have the strength to get up off of the couch and make it to the phone to call him if the need arose. He was starting to appreciate the merits of owning a mobile phone. As Lucas left, he pulled the blanket tighter around him, then closed his eyes, quickly falling back into a fevered sleep.

* * *

When Lucas returned, he set down the take out he'd brought back on the kitchen table, before heading into the living room to check on Henry. He let out a small gasp of surprise at what he saw. Henry was sprawled out on the floor in front of the couch tangled in the blanket. He rushed to Henry's side and saw that he appeared to be unconscious. He gently shook Henry to wake him up, and let out a big sigh of relief when Henry opened his eyes after a few moments. "What happened Henry? Why are you on the floor?" he asked, his voice full of worry.

"Fell off the couch... too tired to get back up," Henry mumbled sleepily.

"I guess I shouldn't have left you here alone," said Lucas, feeling a small surge of guilt. "How long were you lying here like this?"

"Don't know... passed out again shortly after..."

Lucas nodded and helped Henry to get back onto the couch in a sitting position, then wrapped the blanket around him once more. "Just wait here a moment. I got you some chicken soup from the diner on the corner. I just need to go put it in a bowl."

Henry still wasn't hungry, and he didn't exactly relish the thought of eating take out soup, but he was too tired to argue about it anymore, and he knew that Lucas was right that he really did need to eat something, so he merely nodded. Lucas returned after a few minutes carrying two plates. One plate contained his bowl of soup, and upon the other rested what looked to be a turkey sandwich, which Henry assumed was to be Lucas's dinner. Lucas handed him his soup and then sat down in one of the armchairs to eat his sandwich. He thanked Lucas, and then reached out to take the remaining crackers from the plate on the coffee table, and broke them up into his soup. The bowl felt strangely heavy in his hands, which must be a sign of how truly fatigued he was. It seemed a monumental effort just to raise the spoon to his mouth. The soup didn't taste nearly as bad as he had been expecting, and once he managed to eat a few spoonfuls of the stuff, he found his appetite returning, and was more motivated to finish the soup despite how exhausting the act of eating was. When he glanced up, he saw Lucas smiling at him, clearly happy that he was eating something.

Lucas finished his meal much more quickly than Henry did, and he pulled a graphic novel from his satchel to read while Henry finished eating. He was very glad to see Henry eating despite all of his earlier protestations, though he was concerned with how slowly he was eating. It looked as if it took a lot out of him each time he lifted the spoon to his mouth, and he was almost tempted to offer to feed him, but he knew Henry would never allow such a thing if there was any chance that he could still eat on his own.

Henry managed to eat approximately three quarters of the soup before he couldn't eat any more. It wasn't so much that he was full, it was more that he just had no strength left to feed himself. He set the soup bowl down on the coffee table and Lucas got up and cleared the dishes away. Henry closed his eyes and pulled the blanket as tightly around him as he could. He wanted nothing more than to go back to sleep and hopefully be good as new in the morning. He had the feeling though, that whatever he'd come down with was going to get worse before it got better. He really wished that Abe would come home already. He really appreciated everything that Lucas was doing for him, but it just wasn't the same. His son could offer him additional comforts that were beyond what he was willing to ask of his assistant.

"How are you feeling now?" Lucas asked after he returned from the kitchen.

"Less achy I suppose," Henry answered, not bothering to open his eyes, "but extremely tired and cold. Unfortunately the soup did surprisingly little to warm me up."

"Hmm, maybe you'd be warmer and more comfortable upstairs in your own bed," said Lucas with a slight frown. "At least you'd be less likely to fall out of your bed."

Henry shook his head. "I'm afraid I don't think I'll be able to make it up the stairs."

"It's ok. I'll help you like I helped you up the first flight of stairs."

Henry sighed heavily, dreading how exhausting the climb up the stairs would be, even with Lucas's help. He knew he'd probably be better off once he got up there though. "Very well." Lucas helped him to stand up, and he leaned heavily on his assistant, his body not much more than dead weight. Lucas was clearly stronger than he looked, and he had no doubt that he'd be able to pick him up and carry him if need be. Henry found himself slightly out of breath by the time they made it to the foot of the stairs. By the time they finally made it to the top, he was really struggling to catch his breath, and found himself succumbing to a fit of wheezing coughs, which he muffled into his arm the best he could.

Lucas grimaced at Henry's almost asthmatic sounding cough. "Ok, that's it. I'm not playing around anymore. If you don't tell me where the stethoscope is, I'm going to call the paramedics for you."

"Alright, I'll tell you where it is," Henry gasped out in a hoarse voice once he'd managed to stop coughing, "but first I'd like to use the bathroom as long as I'm up. I'm not sure I'll have the strength to get up again tonight once I lie down."

"Yeah ok. That's probably a good idea," Lucas said and guided Henry to the bathroom door. "Are you gonna uh... need my help in there?" he asked awkwardly, feeling himself flush a bit at what he was suggesting.

"Thank you Lucas, but I should be fine," Henry answered feeling himself blushing a bit with embarrassment as well. "I will call you if I need you," he promised as he released his hold on Lucas and stepped into the bathroom, closing the door behind him. It took him about three times longer than usual to use the toilet and wash up afterward, and by the time he staggered out of the bathroom into Lucas's waiting arms, he felt so completely drained that he thought he might expire right then and there, and then he'd have much bigger problems to worry about.

"Whoa, easy there Doc. I got you," Lucas said as he grabbed on to Henry, supporting his weight. He helped Henry to his room and got him sitting on the side of his bed. He frowned noting that Henry still seemed somewhat out of breath. "Ok where's the stethoscope?"

"My old medical bag... bottom of closet," Henry mumbled, finding that even just talking was tiring at this point. Lucas quickly retrieved the medical bag and removed the stethoscope from within. He instructed him to remove his suit jacket, which he'd never taken off, partly from exhaustion, and partly to help keep him warm. He was struggling to get the jacket off, so Lucas removed it for him. Lucas listened to his breathing for a minute, then had him take deep breaths. Lastly he instructed him to cough. Henry complied, but the action triggered an actual coughing fit. The coughs were deep and forceful, causing his chest to ache. If Lucas hadn't been there to steady him, he likely would have slipped off the edge of the bed. He looked up miserably at Lucas once the fit had passed as he struggled to catch his breath.

"Ok Henry, I'm sure I don't need to tell you this, but you've definitely got some congestion in your lungs. Sounds like you've come down with a bad lower respiratory infection," Lucas informed him.

Henry grimaced, but nodded, not really having expected Lucas to tell him anything different than that. "There should be some guaifenesin in the medicine cabinet," he choked out after having another small coughing fit.

Lucas nodded. "Ok I'll be right back." He put the stethoscope back in the medical bag and returned it to the closet before leaving for the bathroom. By the time he returned to the bedroom two minutes later with the medicine and a glass of water, Henry was shivering badly with both arms wrapped tightly around himself. Henry accepted the pills and water from him and swallowed them down, setting the glass on his night stand afterward. "You should probably get changed before you get under the covers. Where do you keep your pajamas?"

Henry shook his head. "Too tired... I'll sleep in my clothes."

"You thought you couldn't make it up the stairs, but I got you up here," Lucas pointed out. "I think you'll be more comfortable, and possibly warmer, in your pajamas."

"Bottom left dresser drawer," Henry said with a sigh, figuring that it was a waste of energy to try to argue with Lucas anymore. Lucas nodded, retrieved a pair of maroon flannel pajamas from the dresser, and set them down on the bed next to him. Before he quite knew what was happening, Lucas had started to unbutton his waistcoat. "What are you doing?" he asked as he irritatedly smacked Lucas's hands away.

"Helping you change into your pajamas?" Lucas answered uncertainly.

"I'm not a complete invalid," Henry said with a slight scowl. "I'll do it myself."

"Ok ok, sorry." Lucas backed up a few steps to give Henry some room.

Henry raised an eyebrow. "A bit of privacy please, if you don't mind."

"Right, sorry," Lucas apologized again and stepped out into the hall. After waiting for about ten minutes, he heard a muffled thud from inside Henry's room. "Are you ok in there?" he called out. There was no answer, so he cautiously opened the bedroom door and entered the room. Apparently the strain of trying to change his clothes was too much for Henry. He was sprawled out on the bed unconscious with his legs hanging off the side. At least Henry had managed to mostly get his pajamas on. All that was left to do was button up the pajama top. Lucas winced as he gently shook Henry awake when he saw the nasty looking scar on his chest. Henry opened his eyes and gazed up at him with a confused look on his face. "You passed out when changing," Lucas explained. "I'm just going to button up your pajama top for you ok?" Henry's only response was a barely perceptible nod. Taking that as permission granted, Lucas buttoned up Henry's pajamas. He got Henry turned around the right way in bed and propped up the pillows under him, hoping the slight elevation would ease his breathing. He then tucked the thick duvet tightly around Henry. "Are you comfortable enough?" Again, Henry only answered with a slight nod. "I gotta ask, how in the world did you get that scar on your chest?" Lucas blurted out, and then realized too late that this was probably not the best time to bother Henry with such questions.

"Lucas, that is a story that is best saved for a time when I'm not busy dying," Henry answered wearily.

"Stop it, you're not dying," said Lucas firmly. "It's just a bad chest cold. You'll fight it off and be good as new in no time."

"I wouldn't be so sure," Henry said with a chuckle that set him off coughing again. He'd certainly had his share of deaths that were less agonizing than his current condition.

"Well I should probably let you rest now. I'll stay until Abe gets back, but I'll just be downstairs so I don't disturb you." Lucas patted Henry on the shoulder and then turned to leave.

"Don't go, please stay," Henry said in a small weak voice.

Lucas turned back to face Henry looking at him questioningly. "Are you sure Doc?"

"I'd rather not be alone right now, and I'm not sure I've the strength to call out loudly enough should I require assistance," Henry explained.

"Ok sure, no problem. Just let me grab my satchel from downstairs, and then I'll come right back up to sit with you, ok?"

Henry nodded and smiled gratefully at Lucas. "Thank you Lucas. You're a good friend."

Lucas's mouth dropped open in surprise. "You consider us to be friends?" he blurted out, and could hardly believe it when Henry nodded. Henry had never called him a friend before, and nothing in their interactions would suggest that Henry thought of him as anything more than a colleague. The man must be delirious he decided, but he'd take it. "I think of you as a friend too." He grinned widely at Henry, and patted his shoulder once more before turning and leaving the room.

* * *

By the time Lucas returned to Henry's room, he had fallen asleep again. He settled down in an armchair by the window, and started to read one of his graphic novels as he watched over Henry, much the same way one would watch over someone if they were sitting by their hospital bed. Around 11:30, he heard a moan and looked up at Henry who had a rather agonized look on his face. He put down his graphic novel, got up, and approached the bed. Henry's face was very flushed and covered with beads of sweat. He opened his eyes and looked up at Lucas, his expression confused and unfocused.

"Where's Abraham?" Henry whispered hoarsely after letting out a long series of painful sounding coughs.

"He's not back yet. I'm going to try calling him again." It was getting late, and while he didn't mind watching over Henry, he did want to go home and get some sleep. He pulled his phone from his pocket and dialed Abe's number. After a few rings it went to voicemail and Lucas hung up without leaving a message. "Sorry, he's still not answering. Don't worry though, I won't leave you," he assured Henry.

"Where's Abe? I want Abe..." Henry murmured softly like a child calling out for a parent.

Lucas felt Henry's forehead and noted that he still had quite a fever. He wanted to take his temperature again, but Henry looked too out of it to be able to keep the thermometer in his mouth. He went to the bathroom and ran a washcloth under cold water. He then returned to Henry's side and started wiping down his face and neck with the washcloth. Henry visibly relaxed under his touch and closed his eyes again. He folded the washcloth and placed it across Henry's forehead. Henry seemed fine with this for a few minutes, but then he started shivering violently with his teeth chattering, and Lucas had to remove it.

"So cold..."

Lucas couldn't believe that anyone could possibly be cold under that thick duvet, but fevers did strange things to the body. He looked in the chest at the foot of the bed, and sure enough, it contained extra blankets. He pulled one out and spread it over Henry. "Is that any better?"

Henry shook his head. "Only a little." His teeth had stopped chattering, but he was still shivering uncontrollably.

Lucas sighed and ran a hand over his face. He felt like his heart was breaking right now for Henry. He hated seeing him like this. He just looked so weak and helpless. He briefly contemplated getting under the covers with Henry to help warm him up, but that was a level of intimacy that he knew neither of them were comfortable with. And besides, it wasn't like he was actually hypothermic or anything, quite the opposite really. He winced in sympathy as Henry's body was wracked with another harsh fit of coughing. Lucas picked up the glass of water from the night stand and handed it to Henry.

Henry gratefully took the glass from Lucas and took slow careful sips, but instead of helping, the water just seemed to make his cough worse. When the coughing finally subsided, he was left struggling to catch his breath, and he kept making this horrible wheezing sound every time he inhaled. "Lucas, please kill me," he begged as he handed the water glass back to his assistant. "I'm sure I'll feel much better afterward." The way he was feeling right now, he thought it was almost worth it to reveal his secret to Lucas just to make it all go away.

Lucas rolled his eyes at what he was sure was Henry's attempt to make light of the situation. "I know it sucks, but I'm sure Abe will be home before you know it, and he'll probably be able to take care of you much better than I can." Lucas was sorely tempted at this point to give Jo a call and ask her to do a trace on Abe's cell phone. If Abe wasn't back in an hour, he vowed to himself that he would give Jo a call. He put the glass back on the night stand, and when he glanced at Henry again, he saw twin trails of tears running down his face. Lucas cursed under his breath. His boss was crying and he had no idea what to do about it. Should he just ignore it, or should he try to comfort him? After debating for a few minutes, and seeing more and more tears fall from Henry's eyes, he finally decided to go with the latter option. He sat down on the bed next to Henry and gave his hand a gentle squeeze. To his surprise, Henry actually squeezed his hand back and gave him a brief smile, before his expression slipped back into one of anguish. "Hey, it's gonna be ok. You'll feel like crap for a few days, and then you'll be good as new."

"I miss Abigail," Henry said with a choked sob. "She was such a wonderful nurse."

Lucas's eyebrows shot up in surprise. Henry had never mentioned anyone named Abigail to him before. "Who's Abigail?"

"She was my wife, but she's long gone now," Henry explained.

"Oh man, I'm sorry. That's really rough," Lucas replied not knowing quite what else to say. Henry didn't respond, and just started crying again, a bit more audibly this time. "Come on Henry, please don't cry. You're going to trigger another coughing fit. Look, you've got people in your life that care about you," he said giving Henry's hand another tight squeeze. "You've got Abe and Jo and me. I think you're even starting to grow on Hanson and Reece too."

"And someday Abe will be gone," Henry replied with a sad sniffle. "You'll all be gone someday, and I'll be left all alone."

Lucas had no idea how to respond to that. He had no idea if Henry was normally this emotional when he was sick, but he knew that he really needed someone who knew him better to comfort him and help him through this. He needed Abe, and he hoped for Henry's sake that the man would be arriving home soon.

"Maybe Abe's already gone and that's why he's not answering his phone."

Henry looked like he might die of despair at that thought, and Lucas felt his own eyes start to tear up in response. He shook his head to snap himself out of it. "I'm sure Abe's fine. He's probably just having a good time on his date," Lucas tried to reassure Henry, but he felt a note of uncertainty. Maybe it was time to call Jo and see if she could track him down. Just as he was about to hit the send button on his phone, he heard someone entering the apartment downstairs. "There you see? Abe's home now!" Lucas exclaimed and then sighed with relief.

Henry's face lit up at the announcement and he felt like a huge weight had been lifted from him. He wiped the tears from his face, and felt more than a little embarrassed at how he had been carrying on, but he always found it harder to keep his emotions in check when he was feverish.

Lucas couldn't help chuckling a bit at the sudden change in Henry's demeanor. "Well I'd better go talk to him and let him know what's going on."

Henry nodded. "I really appreciate everything you've done for me tonight. I'm not sure how I'd have managed without you."

Lucas smiled. "No problem. Get some rest and feel better soon," he said, patting Henry's hand as he stood up.

Henry coughed a few times before answering. "Thank you. I will endeavor to do my best."

Lucas gave Henry one last smile before leaving the room and heading downstairs. He found Abe putting his coat away in the coat closet. "Where have you been?" Lucas all but shouted at Abe. He instantly regretted it, but it had been a long night, and he was tired and frustrated at not having been able to reach Abe on the phone at all.

Abe jumped, startled at the sudden outburst. "Jeez, don't do that! You nearly gave me a heart attack!" Abe exclaimed clutching his chest.

"Sorry," Lucas mumbled apologetically.

"What are you doing here..." Abe paused. "Lucas?" he finished once he remembered the name of Henry's assistant. "Did something happen to Henry?" he asked suddenly filled with worry. Why else would Lucas be here demanding to know where he'd been?

"Yeah he's pretty sick. He came down with a bad lower respiratory infection," Lucas explained. "It just seemed to hit him fairly quickly. I had to bring him home, and I've been taking care of him all night."

"Yikes! That can't have been fun for you at all, but I'm glad that you were here for him. Why didn't you call me though?"

Lucas narrowed his eyes. "I did, multiple times. You never answered."

"Huh, that's weird," Abe mumbled under his breath and pulled his phone out of his pocket to check it. Sure enough there were missed calls from Henry's office and Lucas's cell phone. "Sorry, it looks like I accidentally turned off the ringer. You know I would have cut my date short if I'd known."

"Yeah I know. You both seem to care about each other a lot, like you've got this father/son relationship going on."

"That's probably the perfect way to describe us," Abe said with a chuckle, knowing that Lucas assumed that he was the father figure. "Thank you so much for taking care of Henry. It's good to know that he's got other people who care enough to look out for him when I'm not around."

"Sure, no problem. I wanted to talk to you about some things he said though," Lucas said awkwardly, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Oh? What is it?" Abe asked cautiously, hoping that Henry hadn't said anything too damning while delirious.

"Well he asked me to kill him, and claimed that he'd feel better afterward."

"Is that all? He always says that when he's sick," Abe assured him. "Don't take it seriously."

"It wasn't just that though. He also started going on about how someday everyone would be gone and he'd be left all alone," Lucas clarified.

"You really have to take what he says when ill with a grain of salt. He can be a bit of an overgrown melodramatic baby when he's sick," Abe explained. "Sometimes he'll even say things that make no sense whatsoever."

Lucas nodded, though not entirely convinced. "Look, I know it's probably none of my business, but there might be deeper issues that he's dealing with. Maybe you could try to convince him to go to therapy or something?"

"I'll think about it, but right now I have to focus on getting him physically well first."

"Right, of course. You'd probably better go up to see him. He's been asking for you."

Abe nodded. "I'd probably better put up some coffee first. I have a feeling I'm in for a long night. Thanks again for everything, here's some money for a cab," he said and pulled a few bills from his wallet, holding them out to Lucas.

"Oh I couldn't accept that. I was just doing what any friend would do." Though Lucas wondered if Henry would deny calling him a friend once he was back on his feet.

"Go on, take it," Abe insisted, thrusting the money into Lucas's hands. "I just want to make sure you get home safely."

"Ok thanks, I appreciate it. Though really all the thanks I need is Henry getting better soon. I think there might be a homicide if Jo and I have to work with Dr. Washington again for more than a week."

Abe laughed. "I'll do my best. Maybe I'll mix him up some of those tonics he's so fond of, though between you and me, they aren't always as effective as he likes to believe they are." Lucas grinned and said goodnight before showing himself out. Abe got started on that coffee for himself to prepare for the long haul, and he made some tea for Henry just the way he liked it.

* * *

The quote, "It's easier to make ropes out of sand than to treat another doctor.", was taken from the episode Brainstorm of the show Perception.


End file.
